Apple created 1 lakh jobs in India, 72 per cent are women workers

Apple has been in the news for exploring new regions and moving part of its manufacturing business to the Indian market. It was recently reported that the tech giant plans to ship many iPhone 15 models from this country when it launches later this year. This is not surprising considering that the company has increased manufacturing of its iPhones in India by 7 per cent in the last two years. With this, Apple has created more than 1 lakh jobs in India, according to details revealed by Rajeev Chandrashekhar, Minister of State, Electronics and IT.

The minister told Business Standard that most of the workers who have been hired are women. The cited source says that 72 per cent of women between the ages of 19 and 24 work for the company. These workers have just started their careers and are improving their skills by taking such jobs to support their families financially.

Apple has three suppliers in India that assemble its iPhones: Foxconn, Pegatron and Wistron. Of these three, Foxconn has employed some 30,000 female workers. Component suppliers to the Apple ecosystem, such as Tata, Jabil, Avery and Salcomp, also provide jobs for many women. Jabil has about 4,200 women in a workforce of 7,000 workers. The average age of most women is 21 years old, and they are primarily first-time employees.

Bloomberg recently reported that Apple has plans to start 25 per cent of iPhone manufacturing in India by 2025. In 2021, it was around 1 per cent, and the current number is 7 per cent, which is not surprising anymore that Apple has tripled its production rate in India in recent years. The 2023 iPhones are expected to launch in India simultaneously with the China models. The cited source claimed that Apple's suppliers have around 60,000 workers in India.

Notably, Apple makes several devices in India, including the iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 13, iPhone 14, and AirPods. In addition, it has been reported that Tata Sons will acquire Taiwanese company Wistron's existing plant near Bangalore, which will not only give a massive boost to India's economy but also make it the first locally-produced device company. Tata Sons is said to seal the deal for around Rs 5,000 crore.